Member

Amendment 62 seeks to require the Secretary of State to establish a strategy for the accurate and secure collection of data obtained under the consistent identifier provisions. I will respond first to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Jackson, about whether we have engaged with the Information Commissioner’s Office. I assure noble Lords that we are working closely with the ICO, which is clear that data protection does not get in the way of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. In fact, data protection law allows practitioners to share information, when needed, to identify children who need safeguarding or have welfare needs. It provides a framework that enables the sharing of information in a fair, proportionate and lawful way.